Science teachers’ interactions with resources for formative assessment purposes

Abstract

Using a case-study approach, we aim to understand how teachers interact with both analogue and digital resources in the science classroom for formative assessment (FA) purposes and their justifcations for such interactions. The study was conducted in the context of a European Union project on FA in science and mathematics education. The case involved two Norwegian primary school teachers teaching their grades 5 and 7 students a series of science lessons on the topic “how to prevent microorganisms from spreading.” The data set consisted of lesson plans, classroom observations, pre- and post-interviews conducted with teachers, student tasks, postinterviews with students, and student work. We identifed eight analogue and digital resources, which were used to employ fve FA strategies. The strategies that were most commonly used related to “engineering efective classroom discussions” that elicited evidence of student understanding and “activating students” as autonomous learners and peer instructors. The teachers’ rationales for using the selected resources were mainly connected to their efectiveness, practicality, and relevance. Teacher interactions with the selected resources are described, and educational implications are discussed.

Science teachers’ interactions with resources for formative assessment purposes